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Review of Rose of No Man's Land by Michelle Tea
Rose of No Man’s Land
by Michelle Tea
Review by Lacie Morrison
There are many, many things to love about this book. It’s original, the characters are interesting, especially the protagonist. This book really makes you want to get out there and live! It’s a must for any young, feministic girl.
The Cover:
I don’t know if that’s supposed to be Rose or what. Is that her hitchhiking? I think she should try sticking her thumb out a little further, that would help.
I think, if you examine the character on the cover closely, you will determine that she is a Barbie with black hair and lipstick. There is even a little line in her neck—as if her head were simply placed onto her body.
Summary:
14-year-old Trish Driscoll, an isolated girl whose favorite piece of apparel Is a washed out weight-watchers T-shirt of her mom’s, is made-over into Little Miss Mall and sent to work at a trendy clothing store—Ohmigod!
While she doesn’t get much in terms of a career, she meets a strange girl called Rose who is immediately intriguing to her, and Rose has a blast with the easily-corruptible Trisha. Rose shows Trish the must haves of bad-girl living: sex, smoking, hitchhiking, stealing, and crystal meth.
These two wreak havoc together for one night only, but that night will be in all of our minds, and the minds of the unfortunate characters they encountered.
Character Reviews:
Trisha Driscoll:
Her name sucks. Sorry Michelle J.
Ahh, Trish, beloved protagonist. There’s a lot to say about her. I love her unintentional gender-bending ways. She’s a great character, the kind that doesn’t really believe she can take anyone in a fight, but in reality, she could kick some major A.
She’s normal but she isn’t. She’s a loner but she wants a friend. She’s not willing to conform to society, but she’s still afraid to live by her own standards.
As far as the alcohol issues with Trish—I don’t buy it at all. I think it was done a little cheaply, I didn’t see any real dependency on the alcohol, despite multiple references to it.
Rose ???:
Rose has a very no-consequences way of thinking, which I love about her. She meets Trish in a mall and transforms her into a different person, all in one night.
She’s brash, she’s spirited, but she’s a little 1-dimentional. She does, however, add a lot of action into the story and push the main character where she’s never been before.
Her main purpose, in my opinion, is to influence Trisha.
Kristy Driscoll:
Kristy is the girl we either ignore or roll our eyes at, or the girl we sort of look up to, in a way.
Kristy has goals, and she isn’t afraid to put herself out there. Kristy wants to be on Real World, and she brings a camera to a job interview. Now, that is gutsy! However, she sets herself up for failure. She hypnotizes herself with positive thinking, but also closes her mind to the possibility of anything other than her ideal world—from hairdresser to The Real World.
If she’d just wake up, she’d realize some things aren’t as bad
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